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Tillbaka till hemsidan
August 05
- BEOGRAD: Croatian President, Stjepan Mesic, has stated that the "genocidal massacre" in Srebrenica can't be equalled with "individual excesses" that took place during the "Storm" in Krajina in 1995.
Boris Tadic, President of Serbia, appealed to Croatia's authorities to "define their position towards the crime committed against Serbs during the 'Storm' in 1995". "The fact that 250.000 were forced into exile can't be called an excess, it was ethnic cleansing. Killing 2.500 people isn't in any way an individual case but an organized crime", says Tadic.
"Glas javnosti", "Vecernje novosti", 1. 8. 2005.
- ZAGREB: When the workers on a construction site greeted the mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandic, he replied, "Work does make free, Nazis weren't complete idiots". The reporters, who were accompanying Bandic, warned him to "regardless of the high temperatures, be careful what he's saying". The mayor paid no attention to the warning and said to the reporters, "Don't tell me you believe that Nazis were utter and complete idiots?!"
"Vecernje novosti", 1. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Vladimir Cucic, coordinator in the Work Group for Return, says that not even 6 years after the end of the war in Kosovo has UNMIK passed a regulation to at least prohibit its own employees to use other people's properties - many residents of Kosovo who are employed with the UN Mission to Kosovo are living in the apartments and houses from which Serbs, the rightful owners, have been forced out.
"Vecernje novosti", 2. 8. 2005.
- KOSOVSKA MITROVICA: The lack of safety, freedom of movement and economic future, as well as constant Albanian violence against Serbs, are the main reason for Serbs not to return to their homes in Kosovo. So more than 260 reconstructed houses have been empty for more than a year .Jovan Nedeljkovic, return coordinator in Novo Selo near Vucitrn, says, "People are afraid to come back because the village is completely surrounded by Albanian settlements. If they came back, they would have to live on humanitarian aid, closed inside their homes and no one would dare to go out to farm the land".35 houses in Novo Selo and 35 houses in Podgorce near Vitina were reconstructed a year ago for Serbs but there is no one living there.More than 70 reconstructed houses in Obilic and another 80 in Svinjare near Mitrovica are empty. In both these locations, the original Serbs' houses were torched during the March violence last year and the tenants were displaced.There are a number of uninhabited reconstructed houses for Serbs in the returnees' villages of Bica, Grabac, Belo polje, Suvi Lukavac, Osojane, Babljak and some other locations. This summer UNHCR has announced that 12.000 people have returned to Kosovo so far, among them 5.500 Serbs. However, according to the official Serbian sources, only 1.100 Serbs have returned to the Province since 1999.
"Blic", 1. 8. 2005.
- KOSOVSKA MITROVICA: Two nights ago a woman was slightly injured in an explosion near the hospital in Kosovska Mtirovica, stated the regional UNMIK police yesterday.The explosion damaged the nearby vehicles and the windows on the surrounding houses. Police investigation is underway.
"Glas javnosti", 4. 8. 2005.
- VITINA: On the night between July 29th and 30th, a missile launcher grenade was planted in the courtyard of Milivoje Niksic's house in Cernica near Gnjilane but it failed to explode.Four children were in the house at the time.
"Glas javnosti", 4. 8. 2005.
- PRAGUE: The peace that reigns in Kosovo is only apparent and the expansion of organized crime and smuggling also represents a danger for the KFOR soldiers, said the Czech colonel, Ales Vodenhal, the new commandant of the KFOR's "Center" multinational brigade.In an interview for the Czech daily "Hospodarzske novini", Vodenhal warns that the apparent peace only rules because and as long as Kosovo
Albanians are convinced that the Province will become independent.
"Glas javnosti", 4. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Kosovo Serbs demand true decentralization and instead of the current 28 municipalities, they suggest 47 - Albanians would be the majority in 28 municipalities, Serbs - in 17 and Muslims, Bosniaks, Gorans and Turks would be the majority in one municipality each.Albanians are in majority in 23 of the current 28 municipalities and
Serbs are the majority population in the remaining 5 municipalities.Serbs think that Pristina, Prizren, Pec, Gnjilane and Kosovska Mitrovica should get a status of multi-ethnic municipalities.
"Glas javnosti", 4. 8. 2005.
- SMEDEREVO: Most IDPs from Kosovo who are living in the collective center in Radinac near Smederevo want to go back to their homes and they are expecting their properties to be returned to them - shows an opinion poll conducted in this collective center.The poll included 146 families, i.e. 584 persons, and it was conducted by a team of the Commission for Refugees of the Republic of Serbia.The aim of the poll was to find out what the IDPs plan after the closing of the center, what kind of support they will need, they also answered the questions about the properties they own or used to own, about their relatives in Serbia&Montenegro and the status of the relatives.
Zoran Radojkovic, local commissioner for refugees in Smederevo, says that a computer data base will be formed on the basis of the results of the opinion poll and then the Commission for Refugees, helped by donors and governmental and nongovernmental organizations, under the auspices of UNHCR, will make a decision on the closing of the collective center in Radinac.
"Glas javnosti", 4. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: UNICEF warns that 63% babies in the world don't get their mothers' milk and in Serbia&Montengro the situation is even worse - as many as 89% of the babies don't get breast fed.
"Glas javnosti", 4. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Beocin had the highest average salary in Serbia in the second quarter of this year - 28.906 dinars, and the average monthly salary in Bela Palanka in April, May and June was 4.999 dinars.
"Glas javnosti", 4. 8. 2005.
- ZAGREB: Yesterday Ivo Sanader, Croatian Prime Minster, in his name and on behalf of the Government, congratulated the Croatian people and other Croatia's citizens the "Day of the victory and homeland gratitude" which is celebrated in rememberance of the "Storm" when around 2.000 Serbs were killed and more than 220.000 were forced into exile.
"On that day, we remember the fate deciding moments and the magnificent
military and police operations when we defended the independent and
sovereign Republic of Croatia and all its citizens", Sanader stressed.
"Glas javnosti", 4. 8. 2005.
- ZAGREB: Based on an International Wanted Notice issued at Croatia's request, the Austrian police have arrested Stevan Peric of Serb ethnicity, Savo Strbac of the "Veritas" confirmed yesterday.
Peric was born in Berak near Vukovar in 1975 and Croatia is charging him and another 45 Serbs of a war crime against civilians in Berak.
Also based on an International Wanted Notice, the authorities of Bosnia&Herzegovina have extradited to Croatia Neven Pupovac of Serb ethnicity, born in Rastevic near Benkovac in 1968. Croatia sentenced him in absentia to 8 years imprisonment for a supposed war crime committed in Rasetic.
"Glas javnosti", 4. 8. 2005.
- DUGOBABE: A poster 5 meters by 3 meters was put up yesterday in Dugobabe, homeplace of the Croatian Prime Minister's family. It reads on the poster, "I am a hero, what are you?"
The local send out a message in this way that "Gotovina still lives in the heart of every honest Croat, no matter what political party or policy he belongs to".
The poster was put up at the initiative of the inhabitants of Dugobabe and with the help of the local branch of the Croatian Homeland War Veterans, said the president of the branch, Zeljko Strize.
"Glas javnosti", "Danas", 4. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Yesterday on the Kosovo boreder, UNMIK handed over to the families the remains of 6 Kosovo Serbs who went missing and were killed 6 years ago - said Gvozden Gagic, president of the Commission for Missing Persons of Serbia&Montenegro.
All 6 persons were killed from fire arms; 5 were over 70 years of age. Their remains were exhumed in various locations in Kosovo.
Gagic says that since 2002, the remains of a total of 138 Kosovo Serbs have been identified and handed over to their families.
"Glas javnosti", 3. 8. 2005.
- BRUSSELS: There is a great concern in the EU about the fact that the standards aren't being implemented in Kosovo, especially when it comes to the return of displaced Serbs and decentralization.
Such concern is especially evident after the recent talks between the special international envoy Kai Eide and the Contact Group. Their conclusion is not just that the standards are not being implemented but there is also no political will among the Kosovo Albanian leadership to carry out the standards.
EU officials believe that pressure, primarily by the United States, could get the talks about the status of Kosovo to start in the autumn.
"Glas javnosti", 3. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Interpol has received a list from Croatia's State Prosecution Office with the names of 483 ethnic Serbs suspected of war crimes in Croatia.
The list was made by the Croatian Ministry of Police and it also contains the names of 72 persons who have been either convicted already or the investigation against them has been cancelled so the Croatian Interpol wants 411 citizens of Serbia&Montenegro.The list of all 483 names was published yesterday by the Podgorica "Dan" daily, noting that the list will be the basis for the revised list which is to be submitted to the authorities of Serbia&Montenegro.
The only list that exists officially so far is the one published previously in the "Dan" containing 1.993 names.
"Glas javnosti", 3. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Thousands of people on the territory of former Yugoslavia suffer from depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. These conditions are caused, among other things, by the fact that some criminals aren't brought to justice yet.
Sanda Raskovic-Ivic, member of the Serbian Parliament and former Commissioner for Refugees, says that some researches conducted in the collective centers in Serbia showed that the proportion of the people suffering from depression and psychoses is much larger in the collective centers than among the refugees living in the open population, i.e. with relatives or in private accommodation. "There are still 16.000 people living in collective centers and many of them are psychiatric patients", says Raskovic-Ivic.
"Blic", 4. 8. 2005.
- SMEDEREVO: The County Court in Smederevo has sentenced Samet Haskaj (aged 20), displaced person from Kosovo who has been living in Smederevo since 1999, to a year and a half imprisonment for grabbing a mobile phone from a minor, stated the Court.
"Using force", Haskaj took a mobile phone from 17-year-old M.D. on January 2nd this year. He sold the phone for 500 dinars, stated the Court.
"Glas javnosti", 4. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: 10 years since the operation "Storm" are being marked in Serbia today by holding memorial services to the victims of this operation and Croatia is celebrating tomorrow the Day of the Victory and Homeland Gratitude.
In one of the largest military actions carried out in August of 1995, more than 200.000 Serbs were exiled from Croatia, hundreds were killed and around 20.000 houses were torched.
"Danas", 4. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The revised list of 987 Serbs accused in absentia in Croatia hasn't been sent to Belgrade yet although it was announced 25 days ago.
In this way, the hunt for Serbs across the world continues in order to intimidate them and discourage them regarding their return to Croatia.
"Vecernje novosti", 4. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: In Kosovo there are 297 refugees from Croatia, most of them of Serb ethnicity. According to the UN Resolution 1244, they are under UNCHR protection until an adequate solution is found for them.UNHCR is trying to support both those who want to go back to their homes and those who prefer local integration in Kosovo.Unfortunately, there are refugees from Croatia who have been living in collective centers since 1995. According to UNHCR, 70 are living in private accomodation and 164 are living in collective centers in the north of Kosovo and in Plemetina near Obilic, says Myrna Brewer Flood, press agent for the UNHCR office in Kosovo.
"Danas", 8. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Charges are dropped against Marko Milosevic, restaurant owner of Pozarevac, son of the former president of Serbia and the FRY, Slobodan Milosevic, and the wanted notice against him is withdrawn.He was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment for extortion, i.e. for harassing Zoran Milovanovic, member of the Otpor movement.
Charges are also dropped against Slobodan Milosevic's wife, Mira Markovic, and she has moved to the Hague.
"Danas", 8. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Astrit Harami, Kosovo Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, will meet the Serbian Minister of Culture, Dragan Kojadinovic in Belgrade on August 15th.
"Danas", 6.-7. 8. 2005.
- ZVECAN: Unidentified persons shot a bullet at a vehicle of the Kosovo Police Service in Grabovac near Zvecan. No one was hurt.The majority population in the village of Grabovac is of Serb ethnicity.
"Blic", 7. 8. 2005.
- LOZNICA: The International Organization for Migrations has offered two options for the permanent solution of the housing problems for refugees and IDPs in the municipality of Loznica:
- a donation of 6.000 euros for the purchase of a village household
- building materials for the refugee and IDP families who own a piece of land and a construction permit.
The IOM also offers a donation of 2.000 euros per beneficiary for the purchase of equipment necessary to start a private business.The local commission for refugees in Loznica reports that there is an enourmous interest among refugees and IDPs for all these three options.
"Blic", 6. 8. 2005.
- PIROT: Ten families, former tenants of the "IV Kilometer" collective center which was closed last November, have moved into the 10 apartments built in Pirot thanks to UNHCR, the Commission for Refugees and the local community.
"Blic", 6. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Federal Minister of Human and Minority Rights, Rasim Ljajic, has said that, despite the protests by the inhabitants of Novi Belgrade, the State has to be more firm and implement the decision to build legal and hygienic settlements for Roma. He stressed that the State has the obligation to provide adequate accommodation for the Roma living in unhygienic settlements. He said that there are 102 such settlements in Belgrade and there are elaborate plans for the solution of the problem but the State, unfortunately, is
facing the citizens' resistance who protest at a very announcement that a Roma settlement might be built in their neighbourhood.
"Glas javnosti", 9. 8. 2005.
- BANJA KOVILJACA: The collective center in Banja Koviljaca housing 40 refugees and 30 IDPs is to be closed soon, said the local commissioner for refugees in Loznica, Dragan Stanic. It is the only refugee camp left in the municipality of Loznica. The tenants of the camp will be offered two options: to move to another collective center or to accept aid in goods or cash worth around 30.000 dinars. The refugees from the camp will also have an option to buy a village house worth up to 5.000 euros. This program is financed by the Italian humanitarian organization called "Inter SOS".
"Glas javnosti", 9. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The number of beneficiaries of child allowance in Belgrade has dropped from 27.385 in the year 2000 to 20.586 in 2005, which is a decrease of about 25%. The reason, of course, isn't increased living standard but the parents give up the child allowance because it is necessary to submit a large number of documents - first fill out an
appplication and enclose: birth certificates for all the children in the family, citizenship certificate for the appplicant, photocopies of the personal ID cards of all the adult members of the household, residence certificates for the children, a photocopy of the medical care booklet, certificate of the incomes that the household members received in the last 3 months, certificate of the cadastre incomes in the previous year, school certificates for the children, proof of the living space and ownership certificate of immovable assets,
unemployment certificate for the unemployed and a photocopy of a bank account card.
The application must be renewed every 6 months. This June, the monthly child allowance was 1.305 dinars or 16 euros.
"Glas javnosti", 9. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: According to the Croatian State Prosecution Office, by the end of last year, 550 persons were convicted of war crimes, among them only 4 persons of Croat ethnicity.
"Glas javnosti", 9. 8. 2005.
- BOR: More than 400 amateurs from 14 Serbian towns took part in the First Roma Olimpic Games in Bor last weekend. They competed in football, basketball, athletics, table tennis, chess and darts. The tournament was organized by the Municipal Sports Association and the "Stevan Djordjevic Novak" Roma Association of Bor. The municipality of Bor was the sponsor of the manifestation.
"Glas javnosti", 8. 8. 2005.; "Blic", 5. 8. 2005.
- VUKOVAR: On the night between Thursday and Friday, a juvenile citizen of Croatia painted insulting graffiti on 4 houses owned by Serbs in Sotin near Vukovar, announced the Police Department of the Vukovar-Srem County. Charges will be brought against him. He wrote "Kill the Serb" and "Hey Neretva, flow down the side, take Serbs to the blue Adriatic".
"Glas javnosti", 7. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: 460 IDPs from Kosovo and refugees from Croatia and
Bosnia&Herzegovina are housed in the collective center in the part of Belgrade called Krnjaca. They are living in the disused barracks of the "Ivan Milutinovic PIM" construction company, in rooms 8 square meters in area. Their nextdoor Roma neighbours are living in even worst conditions. All the tenants share the sanitation facilities and the
kitchen.These people are vegetating on the banks of a canal from which stench
is spreading.
A 6 kilometer dusty road is the link between the refugee camp and the town of Pancevo. There is lots of garbage dumped around the road.Some of the tenants of the refugee camp arrived from Croatia 10 years ago, after the "Storm", others came 2-3 years ago from other collective centers across Serbia.One of the tenants of the camp, a refugee from Croatia, says that she can't go back to Croatia and if she took the citizenship of
Serbia&Montenegro, then she would lose the right to collective accommodation. She would get the right to child allowance but it is around 1.500 dinars a month and she and her child couldn't survive on that. She is unemployed. She cleans the barracks for a fee and uses the money to support herself and her child who goes to a special school in Belgrade.
The people in the camp try to support themselves in different ways - working in private companies, on local farms, working on construction sites. The jobs that no one else will accept, they will, they say.
"Glas javnosti", 5. 8. 2005.
- NOVI SAD: Vojvodina has 277.523 unemployed persons.
"Glas javnosti", 5. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: This autumn the federal Ministry of Human and Minority Rights will set up an office at the Belgrade airport to provide legal and logistic support for the citizens of Serbia&Montenegro who get deported from the West, said yesterday the assistant to the Minister of Human and Minority Rights, Jelena Markovic.She approximated that the deportations will intensify because 150.000-250.000 citizens of Serbia&Montenegro are living in the West as illegal immigrants but not more than 7.000 will be deported per year. Every individual deportation is announced and the MInistry of Police checks the citizenship and provides escort. The deported are free on their arrival but soon, if the integration strategy is implemented, they will have the opportunity to stay temporarily in transition
centers to give them time to solve the problems with their status and documents.
"Glas javnosti", 12. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The Ministry of Human and Minority Rights of Serbia&Montenegro does not have accurate statistics on the deported citizens because most of them arrive without an official escort. some of those who were deported in the recent months complain of being picked up in the street or from their illegal residence without being given the time to even take their basic belongings. In the last year and a half more than 2.000 illegal immigrants were returned from Luxemburg to Serbia&Montenegro through the Podgorica airport. They were offered 7.000 euros to go back voluntarily and those who refused were returned - without a thing. Illegal immigrants from the north of Montenegro, mostly from Berane and Petnica, are mostly living in Luxemburg.However, it is interesting that the most numerous among the illegal immigrants in western Europe come from Sandzak. According to the estimates by some local political parties, there are at least 50.000 from the areas of Novi Pazar, Priboj, Prijepolje, Sjenica, Tutin and Nova Varos. It is interesting that illegal immigrants from this region are also numerous in the neighbouring Bosnia&Herzegovina, almost exclusively in Sarajevo, where their number is estimated at 20.000 at the least living there with no citizenship or regular job. Most of them went to Bosnia just before the NATO bombardment. At one point, more than 100.000 people from Sandzak were in Sarajevo, so there are still a large number of them still in the city.In Priboj, Prijepolje, Novi Pazar and other parts of Sandzak, there are lotsof 50-year-olds who have received a pension of 250 euros, mostly in Holland, on condition that they go home.Although our citizens are being deported from western Europe for more than a year, there are announcements that the deportations intensify in the coming months. Of course, the new wave of "refugees" will be largely felt in our impoverished country because our citizens mostly return with empty pockets and without basic living conditions.
"Danas", 16. 8. 2005.
- DRVAR; The electrification of the Serb villages of Podovo and Crljice in Drvar municipality (Federation of Bosnia&Herzegovina) is almost complete so the 50 Serb families, who returned from exile 7 years ago, will finally get electricity at the end of August. Around 200.000 houses and apartments in Bosnia&Herzegovina have been
returned to their rightful owners since the end of the war.
"Glas javnosti", 12. 8. 2005.
- VLADICIN HAN: The construction of 5 houses in Lepenica near Vladicin Han for 10 refugee families will be completed in a month. When they move into the houses, the collective center in Lepenica will be closed.The construction of the houses was financed by donors, the local community and the Commission for Refugees.In the municipality of Vladicin Han, there are around 50 refugees from Bosnia&Herzegovina and Croatia.
The construction of 20 apartments for refugees will start in Zlatokop near Vranje in two weeks.
"Glas javnosti", 12. 8. 2005.
- KOSOVSKA MITROVICA: Commandant of the KFOR multinational brigade, Norbert Stier, says that check points are reinstalled near the monasteries of Visoki Decani and Pec Patriarchy and explained that they are being set up wherever the "safety is getting out of hands".
"Glas javnosti", 14. 8. 2005.
- SVRLJIG: The employed in the manufacturing industry in Bojnik have the lowest average monthly salary in Serbia - 1.787 dinars; Medvedja has 1.861 dinars, Lebane - 1.896, Vlasotince - 3.348, Bosilegrad - 3.519 and Vladicin Han - 4.006 dinars.
"Glas javnosti", 15. 8. 2005.
- PRISTINA: As of yesterday, Radio Urosevac is broadcasting a half-an-hour daily program in Roma language. Sami Jasari, director of the local office for ethnic communities, says that the program will contain news and entertainment.
"Danas", 15. 8. 2005.
- OBILIC: 6 Serb refugee families from Croatia have been living in Plemetina near Obilic since 1995 and they have sent a request to the highest officials of Serbia and Serbia&Montenegro to help them solve their problems. These families have a total of 15 members and they stress that they have been temporarily accommodated in the refugee camp for 10 years and they are living in "extemely inhuman conditions".
"Danas", 15. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The city authorities in Belgrade have failed again in their attempt to solve the housing problems of the Roma living in unhygienic settlements and the attacks on the Roma settlements are getting more and more frequent.Due to citizens' protests, the city authority has decided to place the containers in the settlements where Roma already live. So it looks like the unhygienic settlements, totalling nearly 1.000 in the entire Serbia, are about to become a major urbanistic and esthetic problem because not only Roma live there but also other population on the verge of poverty.
Bozidar Jaksic and Goran Basic, authors of the book "The Art of Survival - Where and How Roma are Living", are warning that Novi Belgrade is on the way of creating a Roma ghetto whose population will be impossible to control. Putting a fence around the settlement would not help, to the contrary, it would only mark the settlement as a
ghetto. The neighbours' hostile attitude will create all the preconditions for permanent racial and ethnic conflicts. The initiative by the city authority to systematically tackle the problem of unhygienic settlements and the urbanistic chaos deserves public attention and support.
According to the 2001 census, there are 108.193 Roma and NGOs are warning that the actual number is 450.000-800.000. Jaksic and Basic have conducted a research on "Roma settlements, living coniditons and the integration possibilities for the Roma in Serbia"
and visited 593 Roma settlements with a population of around 250.000.Most settlements have a shop, electricity and a road but a large number of electric installations are illegal and "drawing electricity from a neighbour" is very common. The roads are asphalted and regulated in only 1/3 of the settlements. Shools and preschools are far from the settlements. The housing units are errected spontaneously and built from improvised materials - mud, old tin, nylon, with a bad frame made of waste plank and old building materials - Basic explains. The research shows that Roma would renounce their traditional way of life
in the mahalas if better living conditions were provided for them in a different location.
"The construction of large legal roma settlements to house the inhabitants of the unhygienic settlements could increase their ghettoization and create new problems. It could be expected that new improvised shelters would be set up on the borders of the newly built settlement", says Basic.
Nearly 2/3 of the Roma families evaluate their economic situation as bad or unbearably bad and only 18% of the Roma housewives have permanent jobs and they are mostly professions with the lowest qualifications and salaries. One of the major problems for the Roma is health care. Most Roma children don't wash their hands before they eat and 3/4 of the Roma children never brush their teeth. Women are especially vulnerable because they have their pregnancies and babies without medical supervision. Despite frequent chronical diseases, Roma rarely visit health institutions - says Jaksic.
"Glas javnosti", 14. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Kosovo Roma representatives demand to be included in the negotiations on the status of Kosovo because they are the third most numerous ethnic community in the Province - they are 150.000. "We can't go back to Kosovo and get killed. We have to see what's our place in Kosovo's society and what place we shall have if we ever return so we
need to be present at the negotiation table", said Nedzmedin Neziri, president of the Roma Society for Kosovo, at a press conference yesterday.
"Glas javnosti", 20. 8. 2005.
- KIKINDA: The construction is underway of 24 apartments for refugees in Kikinda. It is financed by the German humanitarian organization called "Help". The apartments are intended for the refugee families inthe local collective centers of Jezero and Sumica. The completion of the construction is expected at the end of the year. Once 24 families move in, 81 refugees will still be left in the collective centers.The "Inter" humanitarian organization will finance the purchase of houses that refugees find in the municipality of Kikinda or any other municipality in Serbia worth 5.000 - 7.500 euros.
"Glas javnosti", 20. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Some municipal authorities seem to have joined Kosovo Government's invitation to IDPs to return to Kosovo. At the web presentation of the Kosovalive Agency at www.kosovalive.com, an information appeared that the municipality of Gnjilane will provide 1.000 euros for every family that returns to the municipality.
"Danas", 20.-21. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Nedzmedin Neziri, president of the Roma Society for Kosovo, stresses that more than 150.000 Roma lived in Kosovo until 1999 and the exact number of those who stayed and those who were forced into exile is unknown so even the representatives of the international community are manipulating these figures. "I come from Kosovska Mitrovica and I know for a fact that there were 1.024 Roma families and houses, whereas
the OSCE claims there were only 400", said Neziri and accused UNMIK and OSCE of covering the crimes against Kosovo Roma.He quoted the example of the Roma mahala in southern Mitrovica "that Albanian UCK extremists and Albanians from Albania destroyed in 1999, killing, raping and exiling its inhabitants who own title deeds certifying that they had been the owners of that land for centuries". On UNMIK's orders, the Kosovo Police Service is now clearing the remains of the Roma settlement, Naziri says, using bulldozers and dynamite in order to build a sports center.
Roma representatives want from Belgrade to help them set up an information center to gather data on missing and displaced Roma and they point out the problem of assimilation of Roma victims being declared either Albanian or Roma because of their names.
There are no conditions for the return of Romas from western Europe to kosovo, although both UNMIK and Belgrade signed readmission agreements in 2002. Kosovo Roma representatives demand that offices for the registration of forcedly deported Roma be established in the airports in Belgrade and Podgorica because the International Organization for Migrations (IOM) looks after those who return voluntarily.
"Danas", 20.-21. 8. 2005.
- KRUSEVAC: IDPs can still sue for damages for their destroyed properties in Kosovo although the deadline expired in June, says Olivera Igic of the Humanitarian Law Offices Network.The Coordination Center for Kosovo has forwarded 37.000 lawsuits so
far, Igic says, of which 1.200 have been "returned" meaning that feedback information has arrived confirming that the lawsuits are registered in Kosovo courts and legal proceedings are launched.
"Glas javnosti", 19. 8. 2005.
- NOVI SAD: The population of Vojvodina decreases by 8.000 and Serbia's population decreases by 30.000 every year - said Bojan Pajtic yesterday, president of Vojvodina Government.
"Glas javnosti", 19. 8. 2005.
- KOSOVSKA MITROVICA: Yesterday the Kosovo Police Service took over from the UNMIK police the jurisdiction of the police station in northern Mitrovica.Captain Zvezdan Spasojevic will be the chief of the police station instead of Rodger Phillips. Seventy-three police officers will be working there - 59 Serbs, 12 Albanians and 2 Bosniaks.
"Glas javnosti", 18. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Three persons a day get killed in traffic accidents in Serbia on average and in the last 15 years, nearly 18.000 people died in traffic accidents. The most common causes are speed and alcohol but also the bad shape of the roads.
"Glas javnosti", 18. 8. 2005.
- KRAGUJEVAC: The Roma National Council in Serbia&Montenegro has started an initiative to appoint local coordinators in 120 municipalities to improve the cooperation between the local administration and the Roma population. They will also act as intermediaries between the local administration and donors whose interest is to improve the quality of living of the Roma from 2005 to 2015, which has been proclaimed the Decade of Roma. It was announced that the Roma National Council will have its representatives in social work centers and courts of law, where they will work as translators for Roma language, as well as in schools and the Ministry of Police, says yesterday statement by the mayor of Kragujevac, issued after his meeting with the representatives of the
Roma National Council in Serbia&Montenegro. The statement says that the mayor of Kragujevac, Veroljub Stevanovic, supported the Roma National Council's initiatives and promised to provide adequate conditions for the work of a coordinator in the local
administration.
"Danas", 16. 8. 2005.
- KRAGUJEVAC: The management of the Clinical Center in Kragujevac has issued an order to the directors of the clinics and heads of the wards that until further notice, they are only allowed to admit urgent and dying cases due to the shortage in sterile solutions used for infusion therapy.Dr Slavica Djukic Dejanovic, director of the Psychiatric Clinic of the
Kragujevac Clinical Center, said yesterday that the Center used to have its own production of sterile solutions "but someone in the previous management decided to cancel the production, i.e. to dismantle the service that used to produce the solutions", says Djukic Dejanovic.
"Danas", 19. 8. 2005.
- PRIBOJ: The announcement of the deportation of some 150.000 illegal immigrants from western Europe back to Serbia&Montenegro has caused a wave of discontent and panic among Bosniak population in Priboj and Prijepolje where almost every family has at least one member living abroad as an illegal immigrant. The local Human Rights Committee
approximates that around 17.000 Bosniak emigrants from Priboj, Prijepolje and Pljevlje, victims of ethnic cleansing campaign, are living in western Europe.A large number of Bosniak emigrants received summons for work service in war situation and entire families left the country out of fear from the repetition of the crimes such as Strpci, Sjeverin, Kukurovic and Bukovica. The situation was used to ban the Bosniaks from returning to
their jobs. According to the records of the Human Rights Committee, the Bosniaks from Priboj and Prijepolje who lost their jobs for war related reasons haven't been returned to their jobs to this day.According to some reports, there are families on deportation lists
whose breadwinners were kidnapped and killed in the monstruous crime in Sjeverin.
"Danas", 19. 8. 2005.
- Belgrade "Vecernje novosti" daily of August 16th, 2005, published the following: A sculpture of a mosquito by Ferenc Bozik, made from steel and wood, has been placed near Ludosko Lake near Subotica. Drago Kovac, veterinarian who has been studying mosquitos in Vojvodina for more than 30 years, says that very few people know that there are
3.000 different kinds of mosquitos and only females feed on blood and males are harmless.
This caused the residents of Subotica to errect a monument to the benign male mosquito that does not attack people.
"Danas", 20.-21. 8. 2005.
- LJEVOSA: This summer 18 new houses for Serb returnees were built in Ljevosa in Pec municipality. The reconstruction was financed by the Italian Government and the return was organized by the "Bergamo" NGO.The village had 60 households until June, 1999.
Mostly heads of the families are now living in the new houses and they say that they are expecting their families to join them any day now. They say the main obstacle to the return of complete families is the lack of safety, unemployment and there is no elementary school. They say that first displaced Serbs returned to the village of Brestovik last year and this year they already have a new elementary school which is to start working in September.
"Glas javnosti", 22. 8. 2005.
- ULCINJ: Djemir Gasi (aged 19) from Pristina suspected of a number of burglaries on the Montenegran coast, ran away during questioning in the court in Ulcinj although 6 policemen were guarding him and another three suspects. An intense search for Gasi is underway, stated the Police Department in Ulcinj.
"Glas javnosti", 23 8. 2005.
- VELIKO GRADISTE: The construction has started of a 7 apartments for refugees in Majilovac near Veliko Gradiste, as part of the program of closing collective refugee centers in Serbia. The project is worth 500.000 euros and it is financed by the European Reconstruction Agency supported by the Danish Refugee Committee and the municipality of Veliko Gradiste that provided the location and the infrastructure.The construction is to be completed in December, said the president of the municipality, Dragan Milic.
"Glas javnosti", 23. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Public assistance allowance in August was 3.070 dinars for a household with only one member; 5.089 for a family of two; 6.477 dinars for a family of three; 6.940 dinars for a family of four and 7.402 dinars for a family of five or more members.
"Danas", 23. 8. 2005.
- ZOCISTE NEAR ORAHOVAC: Kosovo Prime Minister Bajram Kosumi and the
Minister of Return, Slavisa Petkovic, have laid a cornerstone to mark the start of the reconstruction of Serb houses in the village. A total of 45 Serb houses and 3 Albanian are to be reconstructed, as well as the local health center, waterworks and sewerage.
"Vecernje novosti", 23. 8. 2005.
- SMEDEREVO: Two old railroad cars have been the only home for the Roma family of Petrovic in Smederevo for nearly a year now. They are placed at the entrance to the Roma settlement better known locally as Mali Krivak.The family has 4 children - the youngest is 7 and the eldest is 14. The windows on the cars are crushed, there is no glass. "The cars heat up in the summer, in the winter they are freezing cold, when it rains they leek everywhere. Last winter icicles half a meter long were hanging from the ceiling. We have no water for drinking, let alone for washing ourselves. How am I supposed to send Sakrita to school like this, dingy and with lice", says the father, Dragan Petrovic (aged 34). His wife Malica (aged 40) had problems pulling through last winter. She fell ill several times and she believes that she wouldn't survive another winter in the railroad cars.
The family has no regular income. Besides child allowance, they have recently started receiving public assistance allowance from the local Social Work Center in Smederevo.
Dragan has no professional qualifications. He worked in the construction company of "Jugovo" for 17 years and then he got fired because the company became illiquid.
"We are not asking for much, just a roof over our heads, a dry and healthy room. If I had any kind of a job, I would rent an apartment and pay the rent. I thought I would never see my children beg in the street to feed the family, including myself", Dragan says. 11-year-old Sasa and his 10-year-old sister Sunita beg in the center of Smederevo every day. Their father says they get back home after 3 p.m.They say in the local Town Hall and Social Work Center that they know about the situation of the Roma family of Petrovic. The Center has already granted public assistance allowance and the municipal administration is also willing to help the family. The Petrovics say that it is important to act fast because the owner of the railroad cars (the Roma Cultural-Artistic Association) has also reminded them that the cars were only granted for a short period, until the family finds some other accommodation, and winter is nearing.
"Vecernje novosti", 23. 8. 2005.
- UZICE: After 13 years, the Collective Center for Refugees and IDPs in the part of Uzice called Zabucje will be closed on September 1st. Right now the center is housing 134 persons, most of which will move out and find different accommodation and 20 will move to an old people's home which is under construction right next to the Collective Center. Ljubisa Kovacevic, manager of the Center, says that most tenants have decided to move to other collective centers, only 38 have accepted cash aid on condition to pay for private accommodation.He says that 2 persons from the Center have returned to Croatia, 8 persons have no status and an adequate solution is to be found for them but none of them have accepted alternative accommodation in two available collective centers in Branesko Polje and Jabuka.- Only 24 old people will get to stay in our Collective Center, at their own insistance, until the old people's home is completed next July - Kovacevic explains.
"Danas", 23. 8. 2005.
- LOZNICA: The "Iskra" NGO in Loznica has recently started the implementation of a project of "Education of the Roma population" aimed to improve the quality of life for the Roma.There are five local communities in Loznica municipality with large Roma settlements. According to the "Iskra", more than 700 people live in these settlements. The largest settlements are in Joseva and Jadranska Lesnica so a series of lectures has started in these villages. The three-hour lectures are held every weekend.Dr Nada Djuric, president of the "Iskra", says that many subjects are being dsicussed in these lectures. "Such as pregnancy, birth, child care, breast feeding, child diseases, the importance of immunization
and protection of reproductive health, contraception and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases. We also discuss the prevention of smoking, alcoholism, addictions and the need for the prevention of malignant diseases", said dr Djuric.She says that there is great interest in the lectures so sometimes as many as 60 Roma attend.
"Glas javnosti", 24. 8. 2005.
- NIS: The Committee for the Care of Refugees and IDPs, part of the cabinet of the mayor of Nis, has launched a project of the completion of 40 apartments in Dijevac, Gadzin Han and Kursumlija as part of the social program for solving the housing problems of IDPs from Kosovo. The program will be financed by foreign NGOs.The Committee has also launched a project of dislocation of birth registries from 9 Kosovo municipalities and their modernization - says Slobodan Petrovic, president of the Committee. He stresses that the
motive for the idea was a large number of requests from people from Kosovo to make it easier and faster for them to obtain personal documentation. So the registry services in Nis have offered their modern software to speed up the process of obtaining personal documentation for people from Kosovo.
"The project has been presented to the Coordination Center for Kosovo as well as the Kosovo provisional institutions. The international community supports the idea and it is interesting that even Kosovo Albanians are interested and a large number of requests are coming from them", says Petrovic.
"Glas javnosti", 24. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Serbia&Montenegro has signed readmission agreements with almost all the countries of western Europe.At the request of the German authorities, the federal Ministry of Police of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia has granted its consent for readmission of more than 140.000 persons.There are no accurate data on the structure and number of returnees. Two years ago, the Council of Europe approximated that 50.000 -
100.000 people will be returned to our country.15.000 Roma were returned from Germany by July, 2003, and the vice-president of the World Roma Parliament, Dragoljub Ackovic,
believes that another 70.000 Roma will be deported back here. The return of 12.000 Roma is expected from Netherlands and 3.000 from Belgium, Switzerland and Luxemburg each.
"Danas", 24. 8. 2005.
- SOMBOR: Of around 34.000 households in Sombor, 1.200 fall under the category of extremely destitute of which 600 receive some form of public assistance allowance.
"Danas", 24. 8. 2005.
- CACAK: A large quantity of false 200 euro banknotes have been found in the apartment of Nenad Belosevic (aged 44) in Cacak.Branislav Stanic, investigating judge, has issued arrest warrants for 6 persons in Cacak. He says that it was a joint operation by the County Court in Cacak and the Department for Organized Crime in Belgrade "considering that a machine for forging money was found and it is organized crime in which also some people from the municipal administration are involved. Besides false euros, a larger quantity of
Italian tax stamps was also found", says Stanic.
"Kurir", 27.-28. 8. 2005.
- KIKINDA: A CAT scanner donated by the Chinese Government to the hospital in Kikinda 2 months ago won't start working in the following months because the hospital doesn't have a room fitted with adequate x-ray protection and ventilation and the problem is also the lack in competent medical staff to operate the scanner so the patients are forced to travel 100km to Novi Sad or Subotica.Lazar Rajic, director of the hospital, says that the necessary technical conditions will be provided in 6 weeks and then the training will start for the staff to learn how to operate the scanner.
"Glas javnosti", 26. 8. 2005.
- ZAGREB: The Croatian police reported yesterday that unknown persons scared a Hungarian couple to death believing that they were Serbs and damaged their property. "Unknown persons painted threatening graffiti on their house reading 'We will kill you' and 'The last warning to the Serbs'. They burst their tyres, crushed the windows on the car and damaged the shell of the car", says the spokespersons for the Police Department, Sandra Poljak-Juricic.The married couple are around 70 years old and they have been working and living in Subotica for several years so the car has Subotica licence plates, said Poljak-Juricic. They have owned a house on the Croatian coast for 20 years and they spend their summer holidays there.
"Glas javnosti", 26. 8. 2005.
- SARAJEVO: An average inhabitant of Bosnia&Herzegovina spends 9 times more money on jewelry than on hygienic products.According to statistics, an average inhabitant of Bosnia&Herzegovina only spends 7,83 KM per year on hygienic products, which is hardly enough for 2 bottles of shampoo or 2 bottle of liquid soap; 178,42 KM on meat; 148,42 KM on bread and mlk; 89,21 KM on fruit and vegetables; 190 KM on clothes and shoes; 2,33 KM per week on cigarettes; 2 KM per week on drinks in cafes and restaurants; 0,52 KM per week on magazines and newspapers; they go to a hairdresser's every 8 months on average.
"Glas javnosti", 26. 8. 2005.
- POZAREVAC: The third anniversary of the Roma Radio was marked in Pozarevac last night. The Radio was established in cooperation with the Roma Office in Pozarevac and it is financed by Roma who work and live abroad. The Radio covers the entire Branicevo County and it partly covers two neighbouring counties.The president of the Roma Office says that the Radio broadcasts news in Roma language and the program of the Deutsche Welle radio.The Roma Office helps Roma to find employment, to start their own business and in the area of health education, the Office cooperates with the local Red Cross and the local administration. The Office provides regular aid for socially vulnerable Roma. According to the records of the Roma Offivce, 15.000 Roma live in Pozarevac municipality and in the entire Branicevo County - around 20.000.
"Danas", 26. 8. 2005.
- VLASOTINCE: The construction of 8 apartments for 37 refugees from Croatia has started in Vlasotince. The project is financed by the Greek humanitarian organization called the "European Perspective" and the municipality has provided the land and the infrastructure. The apartments will be completed in December.
"Danas', 26. 8. 2005.
- NOVI SAD: A synchronized action "Let's take violence off the walls" organized by the REACT! Group, will be held in Novi Sad, Pancevo, Zrenjanin, Subotica, Sombor, Novi Becej, Kikinda, Belgrade, Nis, Cacak, Podgorica, Niksic, Zagreb, Rijeka, Skopje, Prilep and Zavidovici on September 1st, World Peace Day.The action involves removing graffiti calling for violence, discrimination, racism, fascism and xenophobia and it is aimed at appealing to the public to react to more and more pronounced inter-ethnic intolerance.
"Danas", 26. 8. 2005.
- PRISTINA: 12 bodies were exhumed in the Dragodan orthodox cemetery in Pristina in the last two days. Their tombs were marked with numbers or with the letters "NN"."We believe they are the bodies of Serbs", says the director of UNMIK's Office for Missing Persons, Jose Pablo Baraibar, "because the bodies were buried after the arrival of UNMIK in the Province. In the period between June and September of 1999, 50 Serbs went missing only in Pristina, which leads us to suspicion that a many of them were buried in this cemetery".Dr Slavisa Dobricanin of the federal Commission for Missing Persons of Serbia&Montenegro says that it is beyond doubt that the exhumed victims are Serbs and Roma found in the field by the members of various KFOR contingents, which is evident from the colours of the bags in which the bodies were buried.
"Blic", 26. 8. 2005.
- NIS: Around 10.000 people in Nis are working as unregistered labor. "All those working black are afraid to report it because those jobs are their only source of existence. The salaries are 9.000 dinars maximum. In the villages in the area of Nis, we have recorded great exploitation of children aged 13 -17. They go to school in the mornings and then in the afternoons they work in local drugstores for very small wages", says Dragan Mladenovic, coordinator of the "Independence" trade union.
"Blic", 26. 8. 2005.
- PODGORICA: Birth rate in Montenegro in the first half of this year is lower by 24% compared to the same period last year, says the assistant director of the Statistics Institute of Montenegro, Rajko Lakovic.He says a total of 7.842 babies were born in Montenegro last year which is the smallest number of babies on the record.
"Vecernje novosti", 24. 8. 2005.
- SABAC: The majority of the Roma population in Sabac municipality lives in poverty, on the verge of existence. They are troubled by illiteracy, low level of medical culture and unemployment so the local branch of the Democratic Party has actively involved in the integration program for the Roma created by the Ministry of Ethnic Minorities.
President of the local branch of the Democratic Party, Svetomir Vesic, said at yesterday's press conference that the 2002 census recorded 1.001 persons of Roma ethnicity in the municipality of Sabac. However, it is believed that there are at least 6.000 roma because a large number of them declare as Bosniaks or Serbs.According to the Roma National Council of Serbia&Montenegro, as much as 80% of the roma population is illiterate or functionally illiterate. Most Roma never finish elementary school which is an insurmountable obstacle when it comes to employment so the main source of income for
Roma is collecting waste paper and iron or begging.Roma mostly live in rural areas or on the outskirts of towns and cities, in unplanned, squalid settlements, with no sanitation or
waterworks. The most drastic examples are Drenovac, Bela Reka and Kopljenica Mahala in the village of Culjkovic, where people supply themselves with water from the creek.
"Vecernje novosti", 24. 8. 2005.
- GRACANICA: There are 14 Serbs living in the village of Lebane in Kosovo, of which the youngest is 57 years old. Before UNMIK's arrival in the Province, the village had more than 160 inhabitants of Serb ethnicity.Olgica Radonjic is a potential returnee, however, her house was usurped by Albanians in 1999 and they have recently moved out after HABITAT's intervention.But as the illegal tenants were leaving the house, they took everything they could, they poisoned the well and cut down all the 100 trees in the orchard.
Seventeen Serb houses in Lebane are still usurped, among them the house of Miladija Gajic who is staying with her relatives and every day she helplessly looks at her home and the Albanian woman spreading laundry to dry on her terrace.
"Glas javnosti", 28. 8. 2005.
- PRISTINA: Kosovo President Ibrahim Rugova (aged 61) was transferred yesterday to an American military base in Germany for treatment, stated his office in Pristina. His medical condition deteriorated earlier this week. It is unknown for now what he is suffering from, he has got symptoms of flu and lung problems.
"Glas javnosti", 28. 8. 2005.
- MOSTAR: A strong explosion took place yesterday at 1 a.m. in Milena Popadic's abandoned apartment. No one has lived there in quite a long time. There were no casualities in the explosion but a great property damage was caused.
"Glas javnosti", 28. 8. 2005.
- ZAGREB: Part of the inventory of the orthodox church in Dubrovnik has been robbed and the local orthodox priest, Goran Spaic, believes it was just "ordinary" thieves, not an ethnically motivated robbery and he doesn't perceive it as a form of pressure against the orthodox community. The Zagreb "Vecernji list" daily reports that a cross made of gold, silver and semiprecious stones from 19th century, a silver case, covers for the Bible and a cassock.
"Glas javnosti", 28. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Nebojsa Covic, president of the Coordination Center for Kosovo, has been fired and the Serbian Prime Minister, Vojislav Kostunica, announced yesterday that Sanda Raskovic-Ivic, vice-president of the Democratic Party of Serbia, will be appointed to be the new president and Rasim Ljajic, federal Minister of Human and Minority Rights and current vice-president of the Coordination Center for the South of Serbia, will be appointed to be the president of the Center for the South of Serbia.
"Danas", 27.-28. 8. 2005.
- NOVI PAZAR: As of this school year, children of Bosniak ethnicity will be enabled to study Bosnian language in school. Textbooks for the first, second and third grade of elementary school have come out and the authors are Hodo Katal and Alija Dzogovic.
Children of Bosniak ethnicity will study Bosnian language with elements of national culture as an optional subject two times a week.
"Blic", 27. 8. 2005.
- PARACIN: There are 539 refugees from Croatia and Bosnia&Herzegovina and 1.200 IDPs from Kosovo currently living in Paracin municipality.Bojan Veljkovic, member of the Municipal Council in charge of refugee issues, says "the commission for refugees in Paracin has done a lot, primarily when it comes to housing. Twenty apartments have been built recently in the settlement of Dankovo. Last year 12 apartments were built in the same location and the construction of another 15 apartments for refugees will start in September. The municipality has provided the land and the Danish Refugee Committee has provided the funds".In Paracin municipality there are two collective centers housing a total of 150 persons.
"Vecernje novosti", 27. 8. 2005.
- PODGORICA: Montenegran Ministry of Education will provide free schoolbooks for around 450 Roma children and children from socially vulnerable families, announced the Ministry yesterday. Approximately 300.000 euros will be spent for the purpose over the next 2 years.
Free schoolbooks will be provided for all the Roma children who enroll in elementary school this year.
All the Roma pupils in the "Bozidar Vukovic Podgoricanin" elementary shool in Poodgorica will get free schoolbooks. Half the Roma schoolchildren in Montenegro go to this school.
"Danas", 30. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: The "5th of October" People's Movement is "very unpleasantly surprised" by the fact that Sanda Raskovic-Ivic has been nominated as president of the Coordination Center for Kosovo. The Movement reminds that in 2003, she was replaced as Commissioner for Refugees for "managing the Commission in an extravagant and incriminated way". "The current vice-president of the Democratic Party of Serbia was spending foreign donations for refugees on astronomic fees for herself and her associates, outside their regular salaries, and she bought 28 apartments for the Commission without a tender or Government's consent and furnished a most luxurious cabinet for herself", says a statement for the public by the "5th of October" People's Movement.
"Danas", 30. 8. 2005.
- ZAGREB: The police have brought charges against a person in Sinj for refusing to give back a property to its rightful owner - a Serb returnee.
In 1995, after the operation "Storm", this person, whose name was not released, usurped part of the property of the Serb refugee and put his sheep and hay in the Serb's family house and accessory buildings in the courtyard.
When the owner returned from exile a short while ago, the usurper refused to vacate the building so the police brought charges against him.
This is the first time the police in Dalmatia is pressing charges against a person for using a Serb refugee's property illegally.
After 1995, it was common to usurp Serbs' houses in Croatia and use them for various purposes but with time, part of the houses have been vacated either voluntarily or by court decisions, report Croatian news media.
"Glas javnosti", 31. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: According to official statistics, male persons in Serbia die at the age of 68,6 on average.
"Glas javnosti", 31. 8. 2005.
- BELGRADE: Two young men, Ivan Dejanovic and Aleksandar Stankovic of Lipljan, were killed from a moving car two nights ago and another two boys were wounded.
The police have arrested 3 suspects yesterday morning and investigation is underway.
With the killing of Aleksandar Stankovic (born in 1977) and Ivan Dejanovic (born in 1981), the number of Serbs in Lipljan municipality who have been killed since 1999, went up to 35. None of the killings have been solved yet.
"Glas javnosti", 31. 8. 2005.
- NOVA VAROS: The construction of 16 apartments has started in Nova Varos - 8 apartments are for refugee families, 7 for the inhabitants of a barrack that has been pulled down and in its place the apartments are being constructed and one apartment is for a local socially vulnerable family.
The Danish Refugee Committee will invest 7 million dinars in the project and the local self-government will provide the necessary construction permits, the infrastructure and 5 million dinars for the construction of 180 sq meters in business premises for itself.
The deadline for the completion of the project is May, 2006.
"Blic", 29. 8. 2005.
- NIS: The most popular Roma Radio Television Nisava will celebrate its 5th anniversary soon.
With 5 journalists regularly making as many as 8 news programs, the Radio Television Nisava has successfully completed a major project of "A Decade of the Integration of the Roma - What, Where, How" consisted of a series of 35 shows dealing with the contemporary life of the Roma.
Turkijan Redzepi, acting editor-in-chief of the RTV Nisava, says that the series is translated into English and into Roma language and it is now being broadcasted on the Roma satellite channel in Macedonia.
Speaking about the problems they are facing, Redzepi mentioned the unwillingness of some of the local functioneries and some state officials to give statements "for free", with an explanation that TV Nisava is financed from foreign foundations.
Ferhat Saiti, head manager of this television station, says that TV Nisava is a member of the Association of Independent News Media (ANEM) so the "Decade of the Roma" series is also being broadcasted on several TV stations in Vranje and Belgrade and B92 and the Montenegran national television are also interested in the series.
"Glas javnosti", 29. 8. 2005.
- ZAGREB: Unidentified person threw a bomb into the courtyard of a house owned by a Serb in Glavina Donja near Imotsko yesterday. The explosion damaged the house and created a meter and a half wide crater in the courtyard.
Twelve members of the family were in the house at the moment of the explosion but no one was hurt.
Police investigation is underway but no one knows the motive for the attack yet.
"Glas javnosti", 29. 8. 2005.
- BAOSICI: The International Federation of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent is continuing to provide financial and logistic support for the Red Cross of Serbia&Montenegro in the implementation of three important programs: helping old people, Roma children and children with special needs, sayd Knut Felberg yesterday, head of the delegation fo the International Committee of the Red Cross in Belgrade.
He says that last year and this year, the ICRC has provided a total of 5 million Swiss franks.
10.000 old people are covered by a program implemented by the Red Cross of Serbia&Montenegro in nearly 90 municipalities, says Felberg.
"One of the important programs is opening daycares for Roma which includes, for now, nearly 400 Roma children", said Felberg. Roma daycares are working in 35 municipalities for the moment.
"Glas javnosti", 29. 8. 2005.
- KOSOVSKA MITROVICA: UNMIK and Kosovo Police Service arrested 2 international police officers and 4 foreigners two nights ago, said Djerdj Kakuk yesterday, regional spokesman for UNMIK. He says that the arrested are suspects in people trafficking in Kosovo.
"Glas javnosti", 29. 8. 2005.